Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A Word B Word C Word D Occurrence Frequency Band MI MI Band Prominent
cause_n appear_v great_a see_v 1,485 5 2.9490 3 false
View all documents for the selected quad

Text snippets containing the quad

ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A53283 The soveraign efficacy of divine providence ... as delivered in a sermon preached in Cambridge on Sept. 10, 1677, being the day of artillery election there, by Mr. Urian Oakes... Oakes, Urian, 1631-1681. 1682 (1682) Wing O23; ESTC R31763 31,659 48

There are 2 snippets containing the selected quad. | View lemmatised text

or keep the Favour of Princes or People Some Expositors on the Place instance in Ioseph that was envied and hated and sold by his Brethren also lost the favour of Potiphar though He managed the Affairs of his House prudently and prosperously and deserved well at his Hands and was cast into Prison by him David that was hated and persecuted by Saul Daniel that was cast into the Lions Den though an excellent Spirit was found in Him and great Prudence and Faithfulness in managing the Affairs of the Empire and before that though He had been in great Favour and Esteem in Nebuchadnezzar's time yet afterwards in the Reign of Belshazzar He lived obscure and as it were buried at Court as Mr. Cartwright gathers from Dan. 5. 11 12 13. Many wise and learned and Ingenious Men cannot get the Favour of men or keep it when they have The poor wise man delivered the City and yet no man remembred that same poor man Eccl. 9. 15. Belisarius wh●m I mentioned before was a most prudent experienced faithful General under the Emperour Iustinian that had won Him many Battels reduced many Cities Countryes to his Obedience and approved Himself for a most loyal and worthy Subj●ct yet after all his Services even in that Emp●●●●'s Ti●● was through Envy falsely accused for ought appears by the Story had his Eyes put out and was forced to stand daily in the Temple of Sophia where He held out his wooden dish begging his Bread and useing those words Give a little Bread to Belisarius whom his Virtue Valour hath raised and Envy depressed cast down again Other Scripture Testimonies and Instances besides those in the Text might be produced if it were needful But every observing man's experience may furnish him with Demonstrations of this Truth That Agents of greatest Sufficiency among men are subject to Disappointments as well as those of less Sufficiency Again 2. Agents of little or no Sufficiency succeed sometimes in their Undertakings when those of greater Sufficiency miscarry meet with Disappointment There is many times one Event to both as Solomon speaks Eccl. 9. 2. when the ablest Agents are frustrated as well as the weakest and there is sometimes a better Event to weaker Agents Instruments they prosper in their way when abler men are disappointed The Race is sometimes to the Slow and the Swift lose the Prize The Battel is sometimes to the Weak and the Strong are put to flight as we have many Instances both in Scripture and common History Weak and simple people have bread enough sometimes when wise men are in want of their daily bread Nobal had good store when David was hard put to it Men of shallow heads grow rich and get great Estates when men of understanding can thrive at no Hand Solomon tells us of the poor wise man and our Saviour in that Parable Luk. 12. 16 20. tells us of a rich Fool. It is ordinarily seen in the World that the thriving men in Estates are none of the most understanding judicious Many a man hath this world-craft that yet is a man of no deep or solid Understanding So many weak worthless ignorant empty Persons find Favour with Princes and People when men of Skill Learning great worth are neglected and despised This is an Evil under the Sun an Error that proceeds from the Ruler a great miscarriage in Government that Folly is set in great dignity Fools are favoured and advanced and the Rich i. e. men of rich Endowments for Wisdom and Piety sit in low places i. e. are depressed and discountenanced Servants are upon Horses men of poor servile Spirits and Conditions are set up and honoured and Princes i. e. men of great worth walking as Servants upon the Earth Eccl. 10. 5 6 7. So that it appeares plainly that Success doth not alwayes wait upon the Counsels and Actions of Persons of great Sufficiency but they may suffer Disappointment when others are prosperous Which demonstrates that the Issues and Events of Undertakings and Affairs are not determined infallibly by the Qualifications accomplishments of created Agents and Second Causes Prop. 4. The Defeat Disappointment of Agents of great Sufficiency in their kind is from the Hapning of Time Chance unto them Some read it and the Original will bear it because or for Time and Chance happeneth to them all For Explication 1. By Time understand not barely the Duration or space of Time which hath no such determining Influence into humane Affairs But Time so so Circumstanced Time is sometimes as much as a special Season or Opportunity when there is a concurrence of Helps means and advantages for the furthering the Designs and undertakings of men By Time sometimes we are to understand such a Nick or Iuncture of time wherein there is a coincidence of Difficulties disadvantages hindrances to the effecting of any Business And this seems the meaning of Solomon in the Text. An adverse or evil Time Ec. 9. 12. Sometimes the Times favour the Enterprizes of men Sometimes they frown upon them At one time wise and good men stand up for the Defence of their Country and Liberties thereof and prosper in it the Times favour them there is a concurrence of all manner of Furtherances and advantages at another time they may endeavour it and the Times frown upon them the Spirit and Humour of the People is degenerated and they swim against the stream are lost in the Attempt And we say Such a Man was worthy of better Times had been a brave man if He had lived in be●ter Times his worth had been more known and prized and He would have had better success So when the Time of Judgment upon a People is come then wrath ariseth against them without remedy and then the strong man may fight for the defence of such a Country and the wise man endeavour to deliver the City but all in vain they shall miscarry in the Undertaking Aben Ezra as Mercer tells us referres this to the Conjunctions and Aspects of the Starres by which He apprehended these inferiour Things were governed We are sure there are certain Periods and Revolutions of Time respecting the Prosperity or Adversity of Nations Countries Cities Churches Families Persons As Time is set to all the Successes so to all the Defeats and disappointments of men and when this Time comes no Sufficiency of man can withstand Disappointments 2. By Chance Understand contingent and casual Events Many things fall out between the Cup and the Lip or otherwise than expect or imagine or can possibly foresee Some Event chops in and interposeth unexpectedly to cross a man's Designs defeat his Hopes rational Expectations When Saul and his men were compassing David and his men and ready to take them then comes a Messenger to Saul saying Haste come for the Philistines have Invaded the Land 1 Sam. 23. 27. When Haman had plotted the Ruine of the Iews and
supplies of Strength and Grace Is. 40. 29 30 31. And though you have many Enemies Sin Satan World and may meet with much Opposition yet God that hath all Issues and Events in his Hand being on your Side nothing shall do you real hurt Rom. 8. 31. You need not fear what Men or Devils can do against you seeing God that manages the active power of the Creature is for you They have no power but what God gives and hands as He will Ioh. 19. 10 ●1 He will not suffer them to do you real hurt Nothing shal separate you from the Love of God in Christ Rom. 8. 35-39 Nay all adverse Powers though of greatest sufficiency to doe you hurt and bent upon it shall do you good whether they will or no Rom. 8. 28. And you shall be sure to conquer at last and have good Success Indeed you may at present have many particular Designs and Undertakings and be frustrated and suffer disappointment therein but then it is good for you to be afflicted crossed disappointed and Unsuccessfulness is really best for you most conducive to the prosperity of your Souls you shall be sure of good Success so far as Infinite Wisdom sees it to be good for you And then however your particular designs and undertakings may be defeated yet you have a general Grand Design that is paramount predominant which is The everlasting Enjoyment of God and if you reach that you are well enough and as happy as you would be and the Lord who is the Lord of Time and Disposer of Events and Governour of his Creatures to their Ends will not suffer you to be disappointed herein You shall infallibly glorify God and enjoy Him for ever This is matter of Comfort to the People of God in the worst Times when it is with them as with Iacob when he said All these Things are against me Gen. 42. 36. when none on their Side Refuge fails and no Means appearing for them And indeed the People of God in this Country have had great Experience of this What Deliverances hath God commanded When few and weak and low and exposed to the Rage of Enemies God said Touch not my Anointed do my Prophets no harm The Salvations of New-England have been most apparently by the Lord 's Governing Time and Chance This or that Chance or Occurrent hath faln in in the very Nick of Time to prevent Ruine It hath not been from the sufficiency of the Instruments of our Salvation but from the All-sufficiency of God and His overruling Events wonderfully Therefore let all that fear God comfort themselves with this Consideration And that you may take down be refreshed with this Cordial Consider two Things 1. That Events are not to be judged or concluded of beforehand from the Aspects of Second Causes As Astrologers conclude this or that shall happen because of this or that Aspect the Conjunction or Opposition of Planets and Positure of the Stars heavenly Houses so do Politicians from the prospect they take of the Combinations and Confederacies and various Aspects of Second Causes Hence also God's People are discouraged when they see the World combine and enter into Leagues Confederacies against the Church now they conclude they shall be a prey to their Teeth and swallowed up And Enemies are ready to Insult over the Curch and to say as Pharaoh I will pursue I will overtake I will divide the spoil c. Exod. 15. 9. But this is a wrong way of judging because Time and Chance happens God may turn all a quite other way It was a good observation of Mr. Caryl When wicked men are nearest their Hopes godly men are furthest from their Fears because then usually God defeats them and their Insolence Confidence engage Him to do it 3. That the Determination of all Events is in the Hand of God in Christ or of the Lord Iesus Christ. The Mediator is at God's right Hand and hath all Power in Heaven and Earth committed to Him all Judgment and the Command and Government of all Events He governs Time and Chance God is in Christ providentially ruling all Events prospeting or blasting all Affairs as He will It is the Man upon the Throne above the Firmament that gives out his Orders according to which the Living-Creatures or Angels move the wheels of Providence as you may see in that excellent Scheme of Providence which is drawn in the first Chapter of Ezechiel And it 's well for Believers that themselves and their works are in the Hand of Christ and that all Events in the World are determined by Him Thàt Christ whose Person you love whose Ordinances you love whose Truth you love whose Commands you love whose Members you love whose Appearing you love that Christ that loveth you a thousand times more than you can love Him and loved you above his own Life and will love you to Eternity that Blessed Lord Jesus Christ hath the managing of all Affairs and of all your Concerns and Undertakings in his own Hands And therefore we may conclude that He will do all in favour of his Members it shall be well with them that fear God Eccl 8. 12. VSE IV. Of Exortation in sundry Particulars 1. Labour to maintain an humble Sense of your own Insufficiency to accomplish any thing even in that kind wherein you seem to be most sufficient best accomplished Let worthy Magistrates in Consultations for publick Good Ministers in their Ministerial way Scholars in their way and Souldiers in their military capacity walk humbly with God Truly God hath poured Contempt upon our military Men our Artillery men and good Souldiers New-England hath gloried in these Things Indeed men of martial Spirits and Skill ought to be encouraged these Trainings and Exercises are very commendable by all means to be supported and countenanced and it is pi●y that as in other things so in this the good Old Spirit is so much gone These are not Times wherein the Nations beat their Swords into Plough-shares and their Spears into Pruning-hooks War in some cases is lawful and at sometimes necessary and sure then Learning of War is so also But I fear we have trusted too much in Sword and Bow and gloried in our Numbers in our Arms and Ammunition in our Trainings in our expert Souldiers and the Lord hath shewn us that all these things are nothing without his Blessing and that unless the Lord watch the Town keep the garrison'd House fight the Battel all is in vain We have seen that a despised despicable Enemy that is not acquainted with books of military Discipline that observe no regular Order that understand not the Souldier's Postures and Motions and F●●ings and Forms of Battel that fight in a base cowardly contemptible way have been able to rout and put to flight and destroy our valiant and good Souldiers And I must confess that which determined my thoughts to this Text was